Floor Finishing Machine

ABSTRACT

A floor finishing machine includes a base frame, a movable frame movably mounted to the base frame, and a plurality of floor finishing units carried by the movable frame, and being pivotable about a generally longitudinal pivot axis and a generally transverse pivot axis. The machine may also include a jack operatively coupled between the base frame and the movable frame, and a vacuum tank carried on the movable frame and straddling the jack.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a national stage application of, and claims thebenefit of priority to, International Application PCT/US2007/016426,originally filed Jul. 20, 2007 and published as InternationalPublication WO 2009/014511 A1 on Jan. 29, 2009, the contents of whichare hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The field of this invention relates to floor finishing machines.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Hardwood floors have long been a desirable trait in a home and are alsocommon in gymnasiums, bowling alleys, and ballrooms. However, sandingand refurbishing a hardwood floor is one of the more difficultdo-it-yourself tasks for a homeowner or business owner. And, althoughconcrete or cement is a very popular material for use in floors andconstruction materials because of its strength, durability and lowcosts, if the concrete or cement is left unfinished, the concrete floorwill inherently produce dust by the constant scuffing it undergoeswhether by foot traffic or wheeled traffic and be susceptible tostaining due to porosity.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided afloor finishing machine including a base frame, a movable frame movablymounted to the base frame, and a plurality of floor finishing unitscarried by the movable frame, and being pivotable about a generallylongitudinal pivot axis and a generally transverse pivot axis. Themachine may also include a jack operatively coupled between the baseframe and the movable frame, and a vacuum tank carried on the movableframe and straddling the jack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference now is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a floor finishing machineaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a frame portion of the floorfinishing machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a frame portion of the floorfinishing machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a vacuum tank assembly of thefloor finishing machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the floor finishing machine of FIG. 1,illustrating the machine in a working position;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the floor finishing machine of FIG. 1,illustrating the machine in an intermediate position;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the floor finishing machine of FIG. 1,illustrating the machine in a raised position;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the floor finishing machine of FIG. 1,illustrating floor finishing units being pivoted about a transverse axisto a pad change position;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the floor finishing machineof FIG. 1, illustrating pivotable adjustment of a beam;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the floor finishing machineof FIG. 1, illustrating pivotable movement of a floor finishing unitabout two axes; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a modular floor finishing apparatusincluding the floor finishing machine of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIG. 1-11 illustrate presently preferred embodiments ofa floor finishing machine 800. This embodiment is similar in manyrespects to exemplary equipment disclosed in U.S. Patent TBD,application Ser. No. 10/628,531, which is assigned to the assigneehereof and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The machine 800 generally may include a base frame 814, a rear frame 816that may be integrated with or separate from the base frame 814, and amovable frame 815 that may be movably mounted to another portion of themachine 800 so as to be movable with respect to the base frame 814. Moreparticularly, the movable frame 815 may be pivotably mounted to the rearframe 816 so as to be pivotable with respect to the base frame 814. Themachine 800 also may include a jack 818 operatively coupled between thebase frame 814 and the movable frame 815 as will be described in greaterdetail below. The machine 800 further may include floor finishing units820 movably carried by the movable frame 815 and may be arranged in anoverlapping delta pattern as shown. The machine 800 additionally mayinclude a vacuum tank 801 carried by the movable frame 815. The frames814, 815, 816 may be composed of steel, but also or instead may becomposed of any material including plastic, composites, or other metalsincluding iron, aluminum, and the like.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the base frame 814 may include struts 822extending generally longitudinally and one or more crossmembersextending generally transversely therebetween to provide rigidity to theframe 814. As used herein, the term transverse includes a directionoriented across some other direction at any angle including but notlimited to perpendicular or right angles. The crossmembers may include arear crossmember 834 (FIG. 2) extending between the struts 822 at a rearend 826, an intermediate crossmember 824 (FIG. 3) extending between thestruts 822, and/or a forward crossmember 825 extending between thestruts 822 at a front end 828 (FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 3, a tube 823may be welded to or otherwise carried by the intermediate crossmember824 for accepting an inner member 875 of the jack 818. The forwardcrossmember 825 may include portions to which wheels 852 (FIG. 2), suchas casters, may be mounted.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the rear frame 816 may be integral withor separate from the rear end 826 (FIG. 3) of the base frame 814. Therear frame 816 includes upwardly and longitudinally extending uprights832 that are interconnected by crossmembers 834m and 834, whichtransversely extend therebetween. Wheels 827 may be rotatably mounted tothe uprights 832 and/or to the crossmember 834.

As shown in FIGS. 5-7, the rear frame 816 may include a generallyupside-down U-shaped upper portion 836, which may be welded or otherwisejoined to upper ends of the uprights 832. An adjustable handle 838 maybe welded to or otherwise carried by the upper portion 836, and servicepanels 840 may be carried between the uprights 832. The service panels840 may include one or more batteries and electrical controls to operatethe floor finishing units 820. A handle adjustment mechanism 890 mayinclude a pair of spaced apart plates 892 (one shown) welded orotherwise joined to the upper portion 836. The handle adjustmentmechanism 890 may also include a pivot pin 894 carried through theplates 892 and a fixed end of the handle 828 so as to pivotably mountthe handle 828 to the rear frame 816. The plates 892 may include aplurality of adjustment holes 897 through which a handle pin 896 may beremovably inserted, wherein the pin 896 may also extend through aportion of the handle 828 to fix the handle 828 in one of severaladjustment positions. The plates 892 may also include at least onehandle storage hole 899 through which the handle pin 896 may beremovably inserted. The pin 896 may also extend through a portion of thehandle 828 and in general alignment with the storage hole 899, after thehandle 828 is pivoted about the pin 894 to a storage position extendingover the jack 818, as shown in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 2-3, the movable frame 815 may be pivotable about apivot axis 815 a with respect to the base frame 814. The pivot axis 815a may be transversely oriented with respect to the generallylongitudinal axis or direction of travel of the machine 800. The movableframe 815 may include struts 843 extending generally longitudinally, andone or more crossmembers 845 extending generally transversely betweenthe struts 843 to provide rigidity to the frame 815. The movable frame815 may be pivotably mounted to the rear frame 816 in any suitablemanner, for example, by fasteners 847 (FIG. 2) extending throughbushings 849 (FIG. 3), which may be welded to or otherwise carried bythe struts 843 at a rear end 851 (FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 2, beams 831 mount the floor finishing units 820 to themovable frame 815 and may be pivotably mounted to mounts 830 with pivotpins 831 p or the like about pivot axes 831 a (one shown) and may extendtransversely in an outboard direction away from the struts 843. Themounts 830 may be fastened to or otherwise carried by the struts 822such as by fasteners 830 f extending through bushings 844 (FIG. 3) inthe struts 822.

As best shown in FIG. 9, the beams 831 may be fixed in one or morepositions with respect to the mounts 830 using removable pins 831 r thatmay be inserted through the beams 831 and through a plurality ofadjustment holes 829 in the mounts 830. Accordingly, the beams 831 maybe pivotably adjusted to adjust diametral overlap of the floor finishingunits 820 (FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 1, the floor finishing units 820 may be positionedoutside of the movable frame 815 and may be mounted thereto by thepivotable links 856. For example, one of the floor finishing units 820may be mounted centrally at a front end of the movable frame 815, andtwo of the floor finishing units 820 may be mounted on opposite lateralsides of the frame 815. Rear ends 855, such as shafts, of pivotablelinks 856 may be pivotably mounted to the beams 831 and the crossmember845 about pivot axes generally defined by bushings 859 welded to orotherwise carried by the frame 815. The links 856 are retained to thebeams 830 by retainer pins 861 extending through the rear ends 855 andthe bushings 859. Front ends 857 of the pivotable links 856 maypivotably carry the floor finishing units 820. The pivotable links 856may be in the form of a yoke with the rear end 855 forming the bightsection. The floor finishing units 820 may have shrouds 821 with bosses862 mounted thereon surround its motor section 811 and to which thelinks 856 are pivotably attached by mounting pins or fasteners 858extending through holes in the ends 857 of the links 856.

As shown in FIG. 10, this mounting arrangement allows for the links 856and, therefore, the floor finishing units 820, to be pivotablydisplaceable about a first or longitudinal axis 861 a with respect tothe movable frame 815. Additionally, the floor finishing units 820 arepivotable with respect to the links 856 and movable frame 815 about asecond or transverse axis 858 a with respect to the movable frame 815.The first and second axes 861 a, 858 a, are both generally transverselyoriented with respect to the generally vertical pivot axes 831 a of thebeams 831. Accordingly, the floor finishing units 820 have at least twodegrees of freedom with respect to the movable frame 815. Such freedomallows the machine 800 to be particularly forgiving and effective infinishing floors that have uneven surfaces.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the jack 818 may be an off-the-shelfdevice, such as any suitable powered jack and may include a motor andcontrol housing 819 (FIG. 2). An outer member 871 of the jack 818 may bewelded or otherwise joined to a crossmember 873 that may be interposedbetween the base frame 814 and the movable frame 815 and that mayinclude wear pads 877. As shown in FIG. 3, the end of an inner member875 of the jack 818 bears against or engages the intermediatecrossmember 824 and may be carried within and joined in any suitablemanner to the tube 823 of the intermediate crossmember 824 of the baseframe 814. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, those skilled in the art willappreciate that as the jack motor (not shown) rotates, the crossmember873, outer member 871, and housing 819 (FIG. 2) are linearly displacedwith respect to the inner member 875 (FIG. 3). Thus, because thecrossmember 873 is adapted to carry the movable frame 815, the jack 818may be activated to linearly displace and raise the movable frame 815relative to the base frame 814 because the movable frame 815 ispivotable about its pivot axis 815 a. Accordingly, the powered jack 818is specially adapted for this floor finisher application for adjustingthe height of the movable frame 815 with respect to the base frame 814and the floor to be finished.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the vacuum tank assembly 801 includes agenerally hollow tank 802, and a plurality of hose fittings 803 incommunication with the interior of the tank 802 and being carried by thetank 802. The hose fittings 803 may be fastened, adhered, welded,integrated, or the like to the tank 802. The tank 802 may bemanufactured in any suitable manner from any suitable material, such asbeing injection molded or blow molded from a polymeric material. Thetank includes a bottom 804, a top 805, a rear 806, a front 807, andopposed sides 808, 809, with a generally horizontal disposition to keepa low profile above and along the frame 815. As shown, two or more hosefittings 803 may be provided for each of the floor finishing units 820(FIG. 1) and are disposed about a lateral periphery of the tank 802 suchthat hose fittings 803 are provided in the rear 806, front 807 (only oneshown), and sides 808, 809. The tank 802 includes a notch or relievedportion 810 in open communication with the front 807 to accommodate thejack 818 (FIG. 1). The straddling of the tank 802 about the jack 818allows the tank 802 to be in a more forward position, maintain its lowprofile, and have greater capacity.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, the machine 800 is shown in three differentadjustment positions. In FIG. 5, the machine 800 is in a workingposition wherein the jack 818 is lowered such that the movable frame 815is lowered, so as to bring the floor finishing units 820 into contactwith the floor F for floor finishing. In FIG. 6, the machine 800 is inan intermediate position wherein the jack 818 is raised somewhat suchthat the movable frame 815 is generally parallel to the base frame 814and/or the floor F, so as to lift the floor finishing units 820 awayfrom the floor F. In FIG. 7, the machine 800 is in a raised positionwherein the jack 818 is raised such that the movable frame 815 israised, so as to render it easier to pivot the floor finishing units 820for access to the bottom of the floor finishing units 820, as bettershown in FIG. 8. The jack 818 may be raised even further beyond thatshown in FIG. 7. Accordingly, an operator has easy access to the floorfinishing units 820 such as to clean or replace finishing pads orotherwise maintain the machine 800.

Referring now to FIG. 11, the modular aspect of the floor finishingapparatus 900 is illustrated by showing how the floor finishing unit 820can be easily moved between its mounted position with the floorfinishing machine 800 described above and a hand truck 910 to be used asa single unit assembly. The hand truck 910 may include wheels 912, whichare carried by a frame 914 that may include crossmembers 916, 918 anduprights 920, and a handle 922 attached in any suitable manner to theframe 914 such as by being welded or otherwise attached to thecrossmember 918. The floor finishing units 820 are carryable by theframe 815 of the floor finishing machine 800 so as to be pivotable abouttheir generally longitudinal pivot axes 861 a and their generallytransverse pivot axes 858 a, and one of the floor finishing units 820 ata time is also separately carryable by the hand truck 910 so as to bepivotable about each respective generally longitudinal pivot axis 861 aand each respective generally transverse pivot axis 858 a. The rear end855 of the pivotable link 856 of the floor finishing unit 820 may bepivotably mounted to the crossmember 918 of the hand truck 910 in anysuitable manner, including using one or more bushing, bearings, or thelike (not shown). The link 856 is retained to the crossmember 918 by theretainer pin 861 extending through the rear end 855 of the link 856. Thefloor finishing unit 820 may be electrically and pneumatically poweredin any suitable manner such as by a remote power supply and vacuum (notshown). As such, when a smaller unit is needed, the unit 820 may bedismounted from machine 800 and connected to hand truck 910. When handtruck 910 is so longer needed, the unit 820 may be easily moved back tomachine 800.

Each of the above-disclosed embodiments includes elements and featuresthat may be interchanged with any and all of the other above-disclosedembodiments to produce a novel and nonobvious floor finishing machine.

Variations and modifications are possible without departing from thescope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims

1. A floor finishing machine comprising: a base frame; a movable frame movably mounted to the base frame; and a plurality of floor finishing units carried by the movable frame, and being pivotable about a generally longitudinal pivot axis and a generally transverse pivot axis.
 2. The floor finishing machine of claim 1, further comprising a jack operatively coupled between the movable frame and the base frame.
 3. The floor finishing machine of claim 2, wherein the jack includes an outer member, a crossmember fixed to the outer member and disposed between the movable frame and the base frame, and an inner member engaged against the base frame.
 4. The floor finishing machine of claim 2, further comprising a vacuum tank carried on the movable frame and straddling the jack.
 5. The floor finishing machine of claim 1, further comprising a rear frame coupled to the base frame and including uprights.
 6. The floor finishing machine of claim 5, wherein the movable frame is pivotably mounted to the uprights of the rear frame.
 7. The floor finishing machine of claim 1, further comprising wheels carried by the base frame at a front end thereof.
 8. The floor finishing machine of claim 1, further comprising a pivotable link pivotably mounted to a front end of the movable frame and carrying one of the plurality of floor finishing units.
 9. The floor finishing machine of claim 1, further comprising at least one beam mounted to and extending transversely from the movable frame.
 10. The floor finishing machine of claim 9, further comprising at least one pivotable link pivotably mounted to the beam, wherein at least one of the plurality of floor finishing units is pivotably mounted to the pivotable link.
 11. The floor finishing machine of claim 10, wherein the at least one beam is pivotably mounted to the movable frame, wherein the at least one beam is adjustable to different pivotable positions to change diametral overlap of at least two of the plurality of floor finishing units.
 12. A floor finishing machine comprising: a pivotable frame; and a plurality of floor finishing units carried by the pivotable frame, and being pivotable about a generally longitudinal pivot axis and a generally transverse pivot axis.
 13. The floor finishing machine of claim 12, further comprising a base frame and a jack operatively coupled between the pivotable frame and the base frame.
 14. The floor finishing machine of claim 13, wherein the jack includes an outer member, a crossmember fixed to the outer member and disposed between the pivotable frame and the base frame, and an inner member engaged against the base frame.
 15. The floor finishing machine of claim 13, further comprising a rear frame coupled to the base frame, wherein the pivotable frame is pivotably mounted to the rear frame.
 16. The floor finishing machine of claim 13, further comprising wheels carried by the base frame at a front end thereof.
 17. The floor finishing machine of claim 12, further comprising a pivotable link pivotably mounted to a front end of the pivotable frame and carrying one of the plurality of floor finishing units.
 18. The floor finishing machine of claim 12, further comprising at least one beam mounted to the pivotable frame and at least one pivotable link pivotably mounted to the beam, wherein at least one of the plurality of floor finishing units is pivotably mounted to the pivotable link.
 19. The floor finishing machine of claim 18, wherein the at least one beam is pivotably mounted to the movable frame, extends generally transversely from the movable frame, wherein the at least one beam is adjustable to different pivotable positions to change diametral overlap of at least two of the plurality of floor finishing units.
 20. A floor finishing machine comprising: a frame to carry a plurality of floor finishing units; and at least one beam pivotably mounted to the frame, extending generally transversely from the frame, and carrying at least one of the plurality of floor finishing units, wherein the at least one beam is adjustable to different pivotable positions to change diametral overlap of at least two of the plurality of floor finishing units.
 21. The floor finishing machine of claim 20, further comprising a base frame and a jack operatively coupled between the frame and the base frame to move the frame with respect to the base frame.
 22. A modular floor finishing apparatus including the floor finishing machine having: a base frame; a movable frame movably mounted to the base frame; a plurality of floor finishing units carried by the movable frame, and being pivotable about a generally longitudinal pivot axis and a generally transverse pivot axis; and a hand truck separate from the floor finishing machine, and each floor finishing unit is also removable from said floor finishing machine and separately mountable and carryable by the hand truck to be pivotable about the generally longitudinal pivot axis and the generally transverse pivot axis.
 23. A modular floor finishing apparatus, comprising: a floor finishing machine including a frame; a hand truck separate from the floor finishing machine; and a plurality of floor finishing units carryable by the frame of the floor finishing machine to be pivotable about a generally longitudinal pivot axis and a generally transverse pivot axis, and each floor finishing unit is also separately carryable by the hand truck to be pivotable about the generally longitudinal pivot axis and the generally transverse pivot axis.
 24. A floor finishing unit comprising: a motor unit; a shroud below said motor unit; a pivotal yoke pivotably mounted to said floor finishing unit; said yoke having a bight section with a pivotable mount for pivotably being mounted to a floor finishing machine; and two distal ends of the yoke being pivotally mounted to said shroud. 